Lady Raiders drop district game to Pulaski County

Photo by Chante Crabtree Elizabeth Anderson puts up a shot in the Lady Raiders’ loss to Bell County last week. McCreary is scheduled to travel to Boyle County Saturday

By Steve LeMaster
stevelemastersports@yahoo.com

SOMERSET – McCreary Central fell short in a bid to beat 12th Region counterpart Pulaski County in a mid-season girls’ high school basketball matchup. Host Pulaski County used a few runs to pull away to defeat the Lady Raiders 63-43 in a non-district girls’ basketball game on Thursday (Jan. 11).
With the loss, McCreary Central slipped to 7-13.
Pulaski County improved to 5-13 with the win.
Productive Pulaski County shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) from the field. The Lady Maroons were 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from 3-point range.
Nearly automatic when shooting foul shots, Pulaski County shot 93.3 percent (14-of-15) from the free throw line.
Madelyn Blankenship led a balanced Pulaski County offensive attack with a game-high 16 points. Blankenship was the only Lady Maroon to reach double figures in the scoring column.
Narrowly missing double figures for Pulaski County, Caroline Oaks contributed nine points.
Haylee Ridner netted eight points and Ashlynn Pennington added seven points for the Lady Maroons in the victory,
Additional scorers for Pulaski County were Abby Burns (six points), Vicky Countryman (six points), Gabbie Countryman (three points) and Makayla Butcher (two points), who grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Pulaski County dealt McCreary Central its third straight loss.
McCreary Central shot 34.8 percent (16-of-46) from the field. The Lady Raiders were 7-of-20 (35 percent) from 3-point range.
McCreary Central shot 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from the free throw line.
Allyson Anderson paced McCreary Central with a team-high 11 points. Anderson was the only McCreary Central player to reach double figures in the scoring column.
Hannah Neal narrowly missed reaching double figures for the Lady Raiders, scoring nine points.
Lauryn Philips posted eight points and Macey Welchel chipped in seven points for the Lady Raiders in the setback.
Rounding out the McCreary Central individual scoring, Elizabeth Anderson and Celya Kiser added five points and three points, respectively.
The Lady Raiders will have an opportunity to enact some revenge later in the season. McCreary Central is slated to host Pulaski County for a late-season game on February 10.